String Variable From External Script Set To Null?

Alright, so I'm making a BreakOut clone. I'm working on the collision between a powerup and the paddle. The powerup has a global string 'type', which decides the type of powerup. It gets assigned after instantiating the powerup. Thing is, when I access this variable through the OnCollisionEnter in the paddle script, it becomes null, tested with a print. However, if I print the variable after instantiating the powerup, it isn't set to null. Can anyone clear this up for me? This is my code for the script on the paddle object:

 void OnCollisionEnter(Collision other)
     {
         if (other.gameObject.tag == "powerup")
         {
             if (other.gameObject.GetComponent<PowerUp>().type == "Wide")
             {
                 print ("Wide PU!");
             }
             else if (other.gameObject.GetComponent<PowerUp>().type == "Split")
             {
                 print ("Split PU!");
             } 
             //Only the Else gets executed: the print() only displays 'Type: ', indicating the 'type' variable is null?
             else print("Type: " + other.gameObject.GetComponent<PowerUp>().type);
 
             Destroy(other.gameObject);
         }
     }

This is my code for the script on the PowerUp object:

 public string type;
 
     // Use this for initialization
     void Start () {
     
     }
     
     // Update is called once per frame
     void Update () {
     
     }
 
     //This function acts as a class constructor.
     //It may be called after Initializing this GameObject to set proper Power Up behavior.
     public void Initialize(string type)
     {
         //Test the type string given when a brick breaks in BrickBreak script
         switch (type)
         {
         case "Wide":
             //If the type is 'wide', set proper graphical and logical settings
             renderer.material.color = Color.red;
             type = "Wide";
             print ("Spawn Type: " + type); //This displays the type variable just fine!
             break;
         case "Split":
             renderer.material.color = Color.green;
             type = "Split";
             print ("Spawn Type: " + type); //This displays the type variable just fine!
             break;
         default:
             print ("No proper Power Up constructor string input!");
             break;
         }
     }